Living in the Sandwich Zone

In this episode I talk to my new friend and fellow podcast host, Rachel Brumberger. Rachel is a clinical acupuncturist, mom, wife and host of the UnScRxipted podcast. We also discuss how we can (and should) take the lead and become the agents of our own healthcare and self-care. We talk about ditching the "suck it up" mentality when it comes to our care, following our gut and taking agency over ou...

In this episode (Part 2 of Navigating the Mental Health System), I take you through our journey of finding higher levels of mental health care when we realized that we needed more help to keep Linny safe.  I share our experiences and walk you through the various levels of higher psychiatric care that we experienced.  I've created a free mental health information guide that contains some...

When our child became suicidal, I was overwhelmed, afraid and in denial. I had no idea of what to expect. When trying to get help and find support from the mental health system, I faced information overload. In this episode, I share more details about what we went through the day we became aware of how real the risk of suicide was for our daughter. I will also share some information I learned abou...

To fully understand this little extra bonus episode, take a listen to Parts 1 and 2 of My Weekend Away. Then listen to this special supplement to learn about what we discovered about the spiritual meaning of larks! You can follow me on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/karen.e.osborne Click on this link to join Club Sandwich (the LITSZ Private Facebook Group): https://bit.ly/LITSZ_Club_Sandw...

Wanna get away??? In this episode, you get to be a fly on the wall of my first long weekend getaway since 2019. The last trip I took with girlfriends was in November 2019 B.C. (Before Covid). Listen as I share what it took for me to muster up the courage to let go of all my parenting and caregiving responsibilities to take a 4-day trip with 3 friends I met online during the pandemic.  You can...

In Part 2 of My Weekend Away, you'll hear me and my friends (Lupe, Ariel and Renae) unpack the highlights and meaningful moments of our weekend together. You'll leave with a renewed faith that it's never too late to make new friends (even via Zoom), form meaningful bonds, share deep personal even never-shared-before stories and laugh until you cry! (If you haven't listened to Part 1, you might wan...

In Part 2 of our conversation, Jennifer talks about getting school support for her daughter through a 504 plan.  We talk about 504s, IEPs (Individualized Education Plans) and other ways she helped her kids survive remote learning during the pandemic.  Jennifer also offers me a life hack on how to better handle the hardest question I face everyday...What's for dinner??? Finally, she share...

In this episode I talk with my friend Jennifer Stinson. Jennifer is a wife, mom of 2 teenagers and licensed clinical psychologist. In Part 1 of our conversation, we talk about the shortage of care providers & increased demand on therapists resulting from the stressors of the pandemic and the cumulative overwhelm we've been facing with everything going on in the world. Jennifer is also the auth...

In this episode, I dish with award-winning Indie filmmaker Tom Huang.  Tom is a writer, director, producer, filmmaker and actor.  He is also a long-time friend. He's a son and father who has been in navigating the Sandwich Zone for many years. In Part 1 of our conversation we talk about the challenges of coordinating home health support for our parents and also how Tom's Sandwich Zone ex...

In Part 2 of my conversation with Tom we talk about his family's resistance to mental health support for his dad and we touch on the difficult process of finding the right balance of psychotropic medication.  He shares about his efforts to find help for his son with medication and in the school system. Ultimately, we talk about the importance of self-care and how the little acts of kindness w...

Today's episode is super special. You get to meet my beloved child, Linny.  You'll hear firsthand what Linny thought when I announced that I was starting this podcast.  We also talk about the importance of openly discussing the topic of mental health and share a little bit more about our relationship, things we've learned and how far we've come on our journey together. Shamless Plug Aler...

In this episode, I talk about parental guilt. I share how feelings of guilt and shame have infiltrated my experiences as a parent and how becoming aware of my penchant toward feelings of guilt has provided me with important insights about myself. You can follow me on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/karen.e.osborne Click on this link to join Club Sandwich (the LITSZ Private Facebook Group):...

In this episode, you'll meet my friend Amy Broneer and we'll dish about all sorts of Sandwich Zone subjects. Amy is a wife and mother of three as well the designated adult-child who manages the caregiving needs of her dad. In Part 1 of this interview, you'll hear about the parenting and caregiving challenges she's faced during the pandemic, the difficult relationship she has with her dad and her y...

In Part 2 of this interview, Amy talks more about her caregiving journey, navigating her father's assisted living situation and her relationship with her mom. We also talk about how our respective childhood experiences and traumas have influenced the way we parent and communicate with our children. Finally, we talk about the power of community, seeking joy and prioritizing our own self-care. ...

In this episode I look back on the last two years and share my reflections, insights and lessons I've learned since the day we got the call telling us that our daughter was contemplating suicide.  You can follow me on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/karen.e.osborne Click on this link to join Club Sandwich (the LITSZ Private Facebook Group): https://bit.ly/LITSZ_Club_Sandwich

In this episode I'll share with you my  adventure with goat yoga, my habit of deferring joy and the importance of prioritizing joy and scheduling it into your calendar. You'll hear about my upcoming self-care retreat, one of my roommate bonding trips to Napa and more. By the way, if you're ever up in Napa Valley, CA, make sure to stop and visit my friends at Brown Estate Winery and their tast...

In this episode you get a real and raw look into a challenging moment in my caregiving journey and some insight into the ways I create the space to feel, release and move through the more painful parts of caregiving. You can follow me on Instagram at : https://www.instagram.com/karen.e.osborne Click on this link to join Club Sandwich (the LITSZ Private Facebook Group): https://bit.ly/LITSZ_Club_Sa...

In this episode I ponder the "ideal vs. real" versions of my life and discuss how my younger self envisioned "adulting". I also discuss the importance of distilling my days into manageable moments. Finally, I share about how witnessing my daughter's self-harming behavior impacted me, physiological information I learned about cutting and the very important realization I had in talking with my daugh...

When starting this journey to podcast about my Sandwich Generation parenting and caregiving experiences, I got a little pushback from a dear longtime friend who wondered if my trailer was a bit misleading. Take a listen and let me know your thoughts! You can follow me on Instagram at : https://www.instagram.com/karen.e.osborne Click on this link to join Club Sandwich (the LITSZ Private Facebook Gr...

In my inaugural podcast episode you'll learn a little bit about me & how and why I decided to launch this podcast. You can follow me on Instagram at : https://www.instagram.com/karen.e.osborne Click on this link to join Club Sandwich (the LITSZ Private Facebook Group): https://bit.ly/LITSZ_Club_Sandwich

In this episode I introduce you to the people in my "Sandwich". You'll learn more about me and the challenges I've been navigating throughout my Sandwich Zone journey. I share about my experiences as a parent caring for a child in crisis, while at the same time, managing multiple parental medical stressors.  I also go into more detail about my family, our mental health challenges & my per...

Now playing wherever you enjoy listening to your podcasts. You can follow me on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/karen.e.osborne Click on this link to join Club Sandwich (the LITSZ Private Facebook Group): https://bit.ly/LITSZ_Club_Sandwich